Necessary celery

A day of much fire-fighting at work, spinning far too many plates and doing it at a quality that is far too unsatisfactory. It was broken up by a Portuguese lesson that I really enjoyed and despite the concentration needed, was a good stress reliever. Ilidio is happy that I am using my knowledge of Spanish and is being complimentary about progress. During the lesson a delivery guy came to drop off the air conditioning units that the landlady's brother has agreed to fit and Ilidio made me deal with him in Portuguese. The lad was somewhat baffled that a fluent Mozambican was sitting in expectant silence for me to stumble my way through a truly basic exchange about on which wall they were to be mounted. I realised that Ilidio speaks twenty times more slowly than the average person on the street and that it's a well-honed skill to adapt one's delivery for a beginner's ear.

Areas of Maputo are easy on the eye, including this snippet of Avenida Patrice Lumumba, with its nicely positioned palm tree and office for the national electricity company, which is much more visually appealing than the average state utilities building.

Preparing for field travel at the weekend I received a message from the Chief Park Warden of the Reserve, apologising as he will be absent, away on other duties. He said others would be around to give me 'the necessary celery', and I cannot figure out what he meant.